Ulli Theeyal

Ulli Theeyal

Here ulli refers to small onion and so ulli theeyal is nothing but onion karakuzhambu in Kerala style.  Though I am not a Malayali , I prepared Onam Sadhya this year and enjoyed  the feast. I included Ulli theeyal in Onam Sadhya menu.  Tamilnadu and Kerala style of cooking is very similar and use same ingredients mostly but with a slight variations.

Main Ingredients :

Small Onion : 10

Tamarindpaste : 2 tsp

Turmeric powder : 2 pinches

Rock Salt to taste.

Jaggery : ½ tsp

Roast and Grind :

Til or Coconut oil : ½  tsp

Coriander seeds : 1 tbsp

Red chilly : 5

Curry leaves : 5

Grated Coconut: 1 tbsp

Tempering :

Mustard seeds : ½ tsp

Fenugreek seeds : ¼ tsp

Red chilly : 1

Curry leaves : few.

Method :  

Peel the onion skin and keep it ready.

In  a small pan , add half a tsp of til oil and roast coriander seeds, chilly, coconut and curry leaves till nice aroma comes in low flame.

Remove and keep it aside .  Let it come to room temperature. 

Grind to a nice paste adding less water, if needed.

In a small Stainless Steel cooker, add a tsp of til oil and temper with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and when it starts to pop up, add broken red chilly and curry leaves.

Add small onion and saute it nicely for a couple of minutes.

Now add a cup of water,  turmeric powder, tamarind paste, Rock Salt, ground paste , jaggery and mix nicely.

It should be a thick gravy.  Accordingly add water , only if needed.

Close the cooker and cook for a whistle in medium flame.

Let the pressure settle on its own.

Serve with hot rice, Pappadam and Parippu curry.